Sales experience redesign

Background and context

Selecting the ideal energy plan can be a complex and time-consuming task that requires extensive reading and research to comprehend the details. The objective of this project was to revolutionize the process by addressing existing customer pain points and limitations. Our aim was to create a simplified and user-centered solution that enables customers to choose and sign up for AGL's energy plans with ease, speed, and clarity. By re-imagining the experience, our goal was to provide a streamlined and intuitive solution that eliminates confusion and enhances the overall customer journey.

Existing challenges:

• Confusing and overwhelming product offering

• Lack of clear pricing and product information

• Conditional and time-limited benefits

• Lack of personalisation and relevance

• Lack of transparency and trust

• Lengthy funnel experience

Our goals

Transparent

Provide clearer price indication, rates and charges, ensure customers can sign up with confidence.

Leverage data and tech

Leverage existing tech, data and analytics, ensuring the new sales experience is scalable for new product categories.

How we measure success

• Visit rate

• Completion rate of sign up to AGL

• Time spent when comparing energy plans

• Reduce phone calls

• Less customer supports tickets

Discovery

We reviewed and synthesised research conducted on AGL’s sales funnel in the months prior to the project. Sources included commissioned work from multiple agencies, as well as internal work done by the Service design and UX research team. By extracting common themes, identifying pain points, and uncovering opportunities, we were able to build a strong business case, refine our iteration plans, and set the project in motion. This comprehensive research provided a solid foundation for our subsequent actions and decision-making processes.

Key takeaways

• Customers don't trust energy companies ​

• Customer value transparency, particularly when it comes to pricing and billing.

• Make it simple

• On-demand assistance - allow customers to have the freedom to browse and manage their energy, offer support when they need it.

Review current customer pain points with the current sign up flow

User research

Objective

• Identify priority of content

• Validate two primary mindsets

• Explore how users compare plans from various entry points

• Assess how users navigate, discoverability of elements and functions

• Whether users can achieve their goal in comparing energy plans and finding the right one with confidence
  

Research approach

• User interviews ( moderated sessions, held at testing lab)

• 4 rounds of testing

• 3x Labs running parallel with 1x Moderator & 1x Scribe

• 36 participants, 60 minutes sessions

Key findings

• Customer don’t trust energy companies

• Confusion around pricing and rates

• There’s a sweet spot between a summary and full view of product info; this varies among people and requires further exploration

• Energy language is hard to understand

• Users seek an accurate and relatable cost, but willingness for effort to yield an outcome is highly variable among people and
  reward for effort is unclear

• Price certainty

• A personalised plan approach is attractive, as it offers control and flexibility

• Add-ons should include clear value to users and be relevant; however if it is perceived to be too complex, expensive or too big of a
  time commitment, then this creates a tipping point by complicating the sign up process

• Green Energy is attractive, however there is a narrow financial threshold

Set the experience principles

We created a set of principles to help us make decisions as we moved forward to validate the two key customer mindsets.

Brainstorm

As the direction was established, we sketched out the flow and hierarchy of choosing an energy plan as well as multiple rounds of wire framing, prototyping and user testing.

UI exploration

Meet the new AGL Sign up journey

In early 2020, we launched a fresh and improved sign-up flow, along with the introduction of NBN and Mobile SIM plans to the market later that year. The results have been remarkable, with a significant 20% increase in sign-up success rates and a reduction in the time spent by customers during the sign-up process.